Wound treatment devices create sealed environments for the application of therapeutic gases to hasten healing of lesions or wounds on a patient's body. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,644, entitled “Hyperbaric Chamber Apparatus,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the introduction of pressurized gas, such as oxygen, into such an encapsulated environment promotes healing of various types of lesions and wounds.
When wound treatment devices were first introduced for healing of wounds, they enclosed the entire body. As time progressed, these devices became more sophisticated, and covered and treated a portion of a patient's body, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,154,697 entitled, “Collapsible Topical Hyperbaric Apparatus” and 4,801,291, entitled, “Portable Topical Hyperbaric Apparatus,” which are incorporated by reference herein. These devices could be used to treat a patient's wound or lesion without the need to surround the entire body.
Given that these devices are used to treat open wounds, there is the possibility of transferring infection from one patient to another. Thus, time and effort are expended to clean and sterilize those devices that were intended for reuse. Accordingly, there is a need for a wound treatment device that eliminates the likelihood of infection and, further, may be less expensive to manufacture and use than conventional wound treatment devices. Further, there is a need for an improved sealing mechanism for hyperbaric treatment devices to prevent leakage of valuable treatment gas. In addition, there is also a need to provide easy access to the limb being treated. Lastly, a wound treatment device is desired that can accommodate a variety of wound treatments, such as hyperbaric treatment, compression therapy and negative pressure treatment.